


Hiding in the 21st Century

by Tator



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Misunderstandings, Period-Typical Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 04:00:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4248534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tator/pseuds/Tator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>”You know, one day, nobody will hurt us and we won’t have to hide anymore. And I’ll take you to the nice dancing hall down on the corner and take you to the theatre where we can hold hands and I’ll put my arm around you without worrying who is behind us. We’ll have ourselves a proper date. I’ll show you off, and I’ll kiss you goodnight on the front porch for good measure.” </p>
<p>Bucky had wonder and hope in his eyes, and it was the most beautiful thing Steve had ever seen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hiding in the 21st Century

_”Don’t you confuse it, Buck,” Steve said. “I ain’t no dame.”_

_Bucky looked over at him with a smug smile. “I know that, Stevie, but can’t a guy treat his fella nice?” Steve looked away with a blush. Bucky became even more smug._

“Come on, Steve!” Tony yelled from over the bar where his was gathering the liquor bottles. “Everyone else is playing, even your boyfriend over here! You can’t just not join in.” 

Steve huffed silently to himself. He begrudgingly agreed to leave his nice, cozy apartment on his one night off from saving the world or training others to save the world because the team had practically begged. When that seemed to not work, they even used the excuse that Bucky needs to be more social for his therapy. And of course, Steve agreed then. How could he not?

But this? This might be too much. A drinking game? Really? He’d rather be asleep in his bed then play _truth or dare_ with a bunch of people who already know far too much about each other. 

“Come on, Cap! It’ll be fun!” Sam said with a smile on his face. Steve guessed he was already buzzed from the beers he had beforehand. Everyone gave hoots and hollers for him to join in, but he was still apprehensive about it. He looked over at Bucky, who seemed to be agreeing with his friends. There was a spark in his eyes that almost seemed like he was daring Steve to participate, and Steve could never turn down a dare. Not that everyone else knew that. 

“Fine,” Steve sighed. Cheers rose from the rest of the team. “But you all know I can’t get drunk.” 

“That’s fine,” Natasha responded with her ever present smirk. “We need someone to tell us what happened tomorrow.” 

They all sat down around one of the massive coffee tables on the top floor in Stark Tower. It was all very peaceful, lounging around with the team is something Steve genuinely enjoyed, but then the shot glasses were dropped in front of them. Tony looked too happy about all of this, in Steve’s opinion. 

“Now, for our Asgardian friends and those born in a different generation (Steve held his tongue even though he was from the generation that started drinking games), the rules are simple. Someone will ask you if you would like truth or dare. If you choose truth, you must answer the question you are asked. If dare, you do the dare. If you can’t do your task, you take a shot,” Sam explained quickly. Thor nodded in understanding before holding his glass up and shouting “Let us begin!” 

“I’ll go first!” Tony shouted with a satisfied smile. “Who to choose? Who to choose? Ah! Our dear genius of the group, other than me of course-“ Bruce looked up at him with seemingly fear in his eyes- “Truth or dare?”

“I refuse to take a dare from a crazy man, so truth.”

Tony looked defeated by his answer, but perked up when he came up with a question. “If you could have a threesome with two people in this room, who would they be?” Bruce immediately took the shot. Steve got comfortable in his spot. This was going to be a long night, he thought. 

An hour later, Steve had learned more than he would like. Apparently Nat was an expert at juggling knives (Tony spent about five minutes throwing other things at her to see if she could keep it going. She could.). Sam has an embarrassing tattoo on his ass, but took the shot when they asked to see it. Thor admitted to watching Spanish soap operas whenever he travels back to Asgard. Bucky proved that he could do a one handed hand stand, and he didn’t even use his metal arm. Clint had been pretty much naked besides a pillow covering his lap for most of forty five minutes. And Tony had said with confidence that he has had sexual fantasies about Bruce in the lab. When asked if he felt the same way, Bruce took the shot. 

But the entire night, people pretty much kept away from doing anything pretty embarrassing to Steve. They asked him tame questions in comparison to others, and his dares were never really that hard. Well, that was true until Tony’s turn came around. 

“Cap,” Tony looked over at him with glassy eyes. He, like the others, were well on their way to drunk. “Daring or trust? Wait, that isn’t right. What is it? Truthfulness or dareness? Oh, right! Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Steve responded with a yawn. 

“When’s the last time you got freaky?” 

Steve’s eyes flicked to Bucky, whose face was completely blank. “Couldn’t give you a date. Don’t really remember.” The entire team seemed to sober up then. There was this sudden thickness in the air like they didn’t expected that answer for some reason, but mostly Steve saw them looking back at him with pity. Pity that you would give someone when you knew they had been spending all their time alone in their room. 

Steve got up and left the party. 

_”What do you take me for, Stark? Some fairy? Fuck off,” Bucky said as he walked out of the tent with a bottle of whiskey in his hands._

_Howie looked over at Steve with pity in his eyes. Steve looked away. He didn’t need anyone’s pity._

“So I’ve been thinking,” Tony said to no one in particular. 

“Here we go again,” Nat said from where she was sitting reading the paper at the table in Bruce’s apartment in the tower. She denied that the three cups of coffee next to her were from the hangover. 

“Hey, I’m a genius, you know,” Tony responded with a small frown. (“You never let us forget,” Clint muttered from the kitchen.) “It’s just, we all know that Cap is head over heels for his emo lover from another life, but it doesn’t seem like it is reciprocated if you will.” 

Natasha put down the paper as Clint strolled in with Bruce right behind him. “Go on,” she said now paying complete attention. 

“The guy has openly admitted that he’s only had Bucky in his life, so I think it’s fair when we all assumed there was a bit more going on in their one bedroom apartment then sleeping. But last night, he said he’s pretty much been alone his entire life.” Tony explained. 

“We don’t know that he means nothing has never happened though,” Bruce replied. 

“But he did kind of storm out after he said that,” Clint piped up. 

Natasha opened her paper back up again. “It’s none of our business. What Steve and Bucky do is between them. We won’t get involved unless there is a threat to anyone’s health we’re asked.” 

The others seemed to agree. It didn’t sit well with Tony. 

_Steve was sketching on his bed near the low lamp light when he heard the door shut quietly. He didn’t look up when Bucky came in. He didn’t even bother to say goodnight as Bucky flopped on his side of the bed still fully clothed. They never talked after Bucky came back from his dates. Steve remembered it being Susie Johnson tonight. That was a shame. He liked her._

Bucky had bad days, sometimes bad weeks. Everyone was understanding of that. They didn’t bother him when they knew he just wanted to stay in his room. Steve had bad days, too. They usually were the same as Bucky’s. But the team didn’t bother him, not when Steve got the door slammed in his face or when his knocks went unanswered. 

It made Tony simmer. He knew he wasn’t the only one.

_”I’m sorry, Stevie. You know I am,” Bucky said with big, sad eyes._

_“I know, Buck.”_

Bucky always distanced himself from Steve when others were around. They watched baseball games together on the couch. Steve would have his head on Bucky’s good shoulder. Bucky’s arm would be wrapped securely around the blonde’s shoulders. The solider would be moving away from Steve before he even heard other people come into the room. Sometimes it gave him whiplash. Nat started to notice. She always was observant.

_”Come on, sugar. Gimme some sugar, would you?”_

_“Buck, you’re drunk,” Steve replied as he hauled Bucky up from the barstool. “People are around. You shouldn’t talk like that.”_

“I think you’re right.” 

“What was that?” Tony asked. 

“Don’t make me say it again, Stark.” Natasha glared at him but there was no real heat behind it. “I don’t think Bucky treats him right.”

“I thought you were the one who said we should leave it alone.” 

“I did, and we should.”

_Bucky always smoked outside on the fire escape. He didn’t want the cigarettes to mess with Steve’s asthma._

Tony was going to keep out of it. He really was. Nat was completely right. It wasn’t his business. Pepper and him certainly had a rocky relationship at certain times, and he didn’t want people barging into his business. 

But this was Steve, Captain America. He couldn’t let his fearless leader get hurt puppy dog eyes whenever Bucky decided he was no longer worth his time. So, he might have stepped in a bit. He would sit in Bucky’s space whenever the assassin decided to leave. He would make Cap’s favorite type of tea whenever he was having a particularly bad day. He invited him to the lab whenever he seemed down. Tony tried everything to keep Steve happy. Bucky started to notice. 

_”Peggy seems to like you a bunch,” Bucky muttered into his beer._

_“Yeah,” Steve smiled at him. “She’s a real nice gal, ain’t she?”_

_“The nicest,” Bucky nodded, not looking at Steve. He never really liked Peggy._

Bucky glared over at Tony from behind the kitchen counter. Steve and him were sitting at the table, and they were talking about something that Bucky didn’t care about. Why was he here? Didn’t he have his own apartment to eat breakfast in? 

Bucky shoved a waffle in his mouth and tried not to glare as much. He heard Steve laugh loud and bright and the glaring came back. 

_Bucky knew he didn’t like Iron Man from the first moment he met him. He called Steve mean names and didn’t know how to keep his hands or eyes to himself._

“What?” Steve questioned. He was genuinely confused why Clint, Nat, and Tony had all decided that it was in his best interest to sit him down to talk about his “concerning relationship”. 

“We just think that maybe you should give Bucky some space.” Nat said with slight caution. 

Steve looked at the team trying to figure out what all this was about. “Why?”

“Look, let’s cut to the chase,” Tony stated, standing to come closer to where Steve was sitting. “We aren’t idiots, Cap. You know we aren’t. And we’ve noticed that you feel more than brotherly love towards the other century old icicle, but the entire team has also observed that he doesn’t seem to be that interested in you.”

“We don’t want you to get hurt chasing after him.” Natasha interjected. 

Steve’s brow furrowed. “I don’t think you guys understand what’s going on.” 

“Then explain it to us. We’re just concerned, Steve.” 

“I know, Nat. I appreciate that, but you gotta realize that Bucky and my relationship isn’t anything like the relationships most people have nowadays. It just didn’t work the same way back in our day.” 

“We know what love looks like, and that certainly ain’t what the goth has for you,” Tony replied bitterly. 

“It’s not like that,” Steve said shaking his head. 

“Exactly, it isn’t like that. He’s using you, Cap-“

“Who’s using who?” They all looked to where Bucky was standing in the doorway glaring directly at Tony and the rest in the room. 

“It’s none of your concern.” Tony replied, glaring back. 

“I think it is.” 

Steve sighed looking between Buck and Tony. This wasn’t going to end well. 

_Bucky didn’t start gaining his memories until about three months after he turned himself over to SHIELD. The first thing he remembered was July 4th, 1935. He remembered hearing blasts and a red gleam it caused over the beach at Cooney’s Island. He remembered the reflection of lights in blue eyes. He couldn’t remember seeing fireworks, but he remembered at a name pulling on his lips._

Everything came to a huge misunderstanding about a week later. Steve woke up early to make breakfast most mornings. He found it a peaceful way to wake up. It wasn’t unusual for Bucky to sleep later then he did, and it wasn’t unusual for Bucky to then later wake up and stumble into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Steve. 

They enjoyed the silence for a bit besides the spitting oil for the bacon. 

They didn’t hear Tony come in until he said hello to them at the kitchen door. Bucky immediately detangled himself from the warmth of the other body and glared over his shoulder at the intruder while walking to the table. Tony glared back. “Oh, don’t let me ruin the moment, lovebirds,” he said with bitterness tearing at the edges of his words. 

“Tony, don’t start.” Steve sternly stated. 

“No, Steve. Let him. Let’s hear what he’s gotta say.” Bucky spat. 

“You want to hear it, tough guy?” Tony asked. “Fine, I think you’re using our dear Cap here. I think you realize how much he’s in love with you and how much he wants his childhood best friend back that you’re milking it for all it’s worth.”

“What makes you think that?” Steve could hear the slight growl in Bucky’s voice and immediately stopped cooking to do damage control. 

“You never return his affections. Why is that? Why do you take what you want, and then leave him with nothing in return? I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You’ve never looked the same way back. You’re nothing but cold to him.” 

“We lived in the poor side of town. We lived where if someone disagreed with you, the beat it into you that their way was right. Do you know what it would have been like to be a guy with a fella in that day? Do you know how much shit we would have gotten if people knew we were together? Steve could hardly stay out of trouble on his own, he didn’ need my help gettin into more. So, what you’re seeing, _Stark_ , ain’t got nothin to do with me manipulating Steve into giving me his love, but everything with my love for him, my need to protect him from a public who ain’t ready to accept a gay Captain America. And, I certainly don’t trust you enough to protect him for me.” Bucky sneered one last time before storming out the room. 

“I think that went well,” Tony decided before he left as well. 

Steve turned back to the bacon. 

_Steve came home with a black eye and a split lip. “They called us faggots, Buck. Said the lord should smite us down for being the most disgusting creatures on earth.” Bucky sighed as he cleaned of Steve’s lip._

_”You know, one day, nobody will hurt us and we won’t have to hide anymore. And I’ll take you to the nice dancing hall down on the corner and take you to the theatre where we can hold hands and I’ll put my arm around you without worrying who is behind us. We’ll have ourselves a proper date. I’ll show you off, and I’ll kiss you goodnight on the front porch for good measure.”_

_Bucky had wonder and hope in his eyes, and it was the most beautiful thing Steve had ever seen. One day, he told himself. One day._

Bucky kissed him on the balcony (where Tony could see). Steve thought it was pretty close to a porch to count.


End file.
